Development of effective vaccines against influenza, especially pandemic or avian, is a subject of intense current research efforts. The efficacy of these vaccines has historically been assessed using hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assays. However, HAI assays are limited in their utility by lack of standardization among laboratories. The NIH is pleased to offer the subject technology, a system to quantitate virus neutralization and entry. This system utilizes pseudotyped lentiviral vectors that mimic properties of the influenza virus. Experimental use of this system has shown an increase in sensitivity more than ten times that achieved with HAI assays. This standardized system can allow influenza vaccine candidates to be evaluated and compared, which can be a critical step in identifying the best product forward.
Applications include quick, high-throughput, sensitive and quantitative measure of neutralizing antibodies for vaccine development and identification of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
More info: Susan Ano, Ph.D.; 301-435-5515; anos@mail.nih.gov.
